Results tagged “scottstringer”

The Daily News noticed that there were three of the four City Comptroller candidates, John Liu, David Weprin and David Yassky, trying to bring their cases to commuters at the 72nd Street and Broadway subway station on the Upper West Side—and it wasn't pretty: "'Doesn't he look like a used car salesman?' asked a Liu worker of a straphanger who'd just finished talking to Weprin. When Weprin volunteer Luther Eason loudly urged voters to support 'the honest controller' - a reference to allegations that Liu embellished a story about working in a sweatshop as a child - Liu's team told commuters that Weprin flubbed a Daily News quiz about the size of the controller's office budget." Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a Liu endorser, explained the appeal of the West 72nd Street subway station, "Texas has oil and the upper West Side has Democrats. It's a rite of passage. Like you go to Nathan's hot dogs out in Brooklyn, you've got to go the 72nd St. subway station." Or Fairway—we've seen Mark Green, Cyrus Vance, and countless others there on weekends!

Over the weekend, we had an up close and personal sighting of original Public Advocate Mark Green getting signatures for his petition at the Fairway on the Upper West Side (people seemed more focused on groceries than government). The Times was there as well for what Green's political director called "a humbling experience" for the candidate who was mistaken for Scott Stringer at one point and got the reaction from one woman, "It’s very sad. It’s like he can’t get another job." And she was a supporter! The campaign is a strange one for the man fighting the public's "Green Fatigue" after campaigns during his public advocate reign in the '90s and unsuccessful bids against Bloomberg and Cuomo this decade. Despite an early lead in the polls, Green has raised a fraction of his opponents' war chests. And there's even a humble tone coming from the man who is usually quick to tell you he came up with the idea for 311, saying, “Why would I have a press conference and have no one come? Who wants to come listen to the Mark Green economic development plan?”

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer announced he would no longer consider running in the 2010 Democratic primary against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. His statement read, "In light of President Obama's clear desire to avoid a Democratic primary in New York State, I have decided to focus on my re-election race for Manhattan Borough President and to suspend my exploratory committee and fund-raising efforts" for a Senate bid. Stringer told the NY Times, "I was surprised when Obama called Israel and decided it would be very hard for me to mount the kind of campaign I wanted to run." Gillibrand's campaign has been touting its support from Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, Rep. Yvette Clarke and Rep. Michael McMahon, but two notable Dems are still discussing some sort of challenge—Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who has been especially critical of Gillibrand's stance on gun control. Though Gillibrand has been trying to make amends, McCarthy says, "I know she is saying the right things now, but I don’t know if she is just doing it just to win the next primary."

While no Democrats have jumped on the declining poll numbers of Governor Paterson to suggest their own potential run for governor, they seem to be chomping at the bit to exploit the potential vulnerability of new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Yesterday Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said he's considering a run, telling the Times, “Voters have an expectation for a Senate seat held by Kennedy, Moynihan, that there will be a discussion of issues through the electoral process.” Stringer added that he would not run in the primaries if another potential candidate does—Long Island Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Despite Gillibrand's softening of many of her pro-gun stances while in the House, Maloney continues to sound unimpressed by her. Maloney said, “She’s turned her opinion on just about everything, but people are seeing through that. Who is she? What does she stand for? That’s going to be her biggest problem, that she flips on everything.”

After last month a local community board "pitched a shutout" with a 31-0 vote against Fordham University's plans to do some major expansion to its Lincoln Square campus, the school has employed the help of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Now Fordham has a modified plan that they hope will placate residents and allow them to move forward on what would be their "superblock," from 60th to 62nd Streets between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. The new plan cuts out 206,000 square feet of the proposal by moving some classrooms underground, devoting less space to parking and setting buildings farther from the curb. It would also mean that Fordham would not put up a dense cluster of towers as they were formerly setting out to do. Helen Rosenthal, chairwoman of Community Board 7, representing what Curbed calls the "junkyard dog" of neighborhoods, seems to be appeased and sounds on board with the modifications. Stringer said, “The goal was for Fordham to co-exist with the community. This is going to enable Fordham to grow, and that benefits the city."

A new study conducted in all five boroughs determined that 39% of drivers observed were traveling in excess of the 30 mph speed limit, some with fatal speeds of 60 mph and higher in school zones and other high-traffic pedestrian areas. Transportation Alternatives researchers recorded motorist speeds at 13 locations in 2008; the spots were chosen based on community complaints, as well as crash records compiled on Crashstat.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is releasing a report today that proposes limiting the amount of fast food joints in the city, giving incentives to encourage healthier markets and mandating city agencies to purchase local produce. Stringer said, “Our foodshed is already broken and we need to fix it,” referring to the big picture of how food is brought, bought, sold, cooked and eaten in the city. Stringer thinks the city should give tax and zoning incentives to bring farmers' markets into areas lacking in healthy food outlets. He also called for schools, shelters and other agencies to be required to buy 20 percent of their vegetables and dairy products from sources within a couple hundred miles of the city. One food consultant said that the plan might be a bit unrealistic to the area's farmland geography telling the Times, “It’s a bigger picture than just apples and carrots.” Nutritional initiatives have been on the rise lately with the health-conscious mayor's calorie display requirements and the governor's talk of raising revenue through a "fat tax."

The group Transportation Alternatives has released a report titled “The Blueprint for the Upper West Side: A Roadmap for Truly Livable Streets,” their first neighborhood-wide plan to dramatically transform an area within the city into a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly environment. (It's available for download here.) The plan would have the greatest impact along Broadway, which the TA suggests cutting the space available to automobiles from six lanes to four, giving cyclists a lane in each direction, blocked off with obstacles like leafy planters.

More about tomorrow's Futurehood benefit to help PS 41 convert its plain old rooftop into a environmentally-beneficent green roof: A measly $10 gets you assorted snacks and a sampling of chef Michael Anthony's food from Gramercy Tavern, Bobo, Murray’s Bagels, and Royal Café + Pastry. GELL project founder Vicki Sando and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer will speak. Proponents believe that wider adoption of green roof systems in urban areas lead to decreased storm drain run-off and help scrub the air clean. Organizer Carlos Suarez envisions future outdoor events like the “Mozart series they have in Provence, maybe a biweekly opera series featuring the participation of neighborhood restaurants.” For tomorrow’s benefit, however, Southpaw co-owner Mikey Palms has enlisted slightly louder performances from bands including the Hungry March Band, Care Bears on Fire, and Tiny Masters of Today to round out the bill.

A study released yesterday showed that the elevator in the Williamsburg building where 5-year-old Jacob Neuman died last month had failed 17 of its previous 21 Housing Authority inspections. That elevator was also supposed to be renovated back in 2004, but it was put off twice due to spending cutbacks. The renovation would have provided the elevator with a door restrictor that doesn't allow doors to be opened while the elevator is in between floors, a device that could have saved Jacob's life. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer plans to propose legislation requiring restrictors, saying, "It is unacceptable that the lack of a $400 device might have cost a human life." The study found that in the last five years 75% of Housing Authority elevator inspections resulted in "unsatisfactory" ratings in what Stringer called "a culture of neglect."

Would an anti-groping ad campaign provoke more frequent bad behavior in New York's pervy subway sleezes? Following last year's study by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, transit officials began working on a public awareness campaign to stop the offenders; the study found 63% of respondents have been sexually harassed and 10% reported having been sexually assaulted in the subway system. The NY Post reports on concerns that have stalled the campaign.

Anti-groping campaigns have been launched in cities such as Boston [pictured], where trains and buses are adorned with posters bearing such slogans as "Rub against me and I'll expose you," and "Flash someone and you'll be exposed." The number of reported groping incidents there did rise with the campaign, officials said. Boston police said there were 38 incidents reported through June of this year compared with 17 during the same period last year.

Yesterday, the city announced a number of measures to crack down on unsafe contractors and prevent any more horrific accidents. So far this year, fifteen construction workers have died on the job--twelve died in all of 2007.

There are some residual delays on Metro-North this morning after yesterday's East Harlem building collapse that led to the suspension of all service in and out of Grand Central. The trains' speed restrictions were lifted at 6:30 a.m. and there may be 5-10 delays.

Some troubling news about yesterday's three-alarm fire at 200 East 72nd Street which left 19 firefighters and 14 resident injured. Apparently the fire alarm system had been undergoing repairs (there were complaints about "multiple false alarms" according to the Sun), which led to chaos. The building is "fireproof," and the FDNY says residents should have just stayed in their apartment, but many tried to leave the building.

Norman Siegel, former NYCLU director, is taking the city to court today on behalf of Harlem residents opposed to the city’s plan for sports fields on Randall's Island. The city is building 63 new fields on the island in addition to the 36 fields already there; the construction is being partially financed by a consortium of private schools who will be given exclusive access to most of the fields between 3pm and 6pm on weekdays.

The professor at Columbia University's Teacher College whose office door was found with a noose on it spoke out for the first time yesterday. Madonna Constantine told students that gathered for a rally, "This is a heinous and highly upsetting incident. I am upset that our community has been exposed to a blatantly vile incident like this. It is an act of cowardice. I would like the perpetrator to know that I will not be silenced."

A reader sent us this horrible but all-too-familiar story:

I was on the 7 train riding from Flushing Main Street when a man sat across from me (a few stops before 82nd street Jackson Heights he got on) with a newspaper on his lap pretending to be sleeping. I glanced over and to my horror all his goods were in plain view. I did not react and I pulled out my cell phone and took a picture of him. He got really nervous and was rustling around; I then proceeded to call 911 as I was still sitting across from him and was giving a description of him as I was looking right at him. He got nervous and got off at the next stop which was 82nd Street-Jackson Heights.

Continue reading "Do You Know What's Been On That Subway Seat?"

Hollaback! A man was arrested for menacing, stalking and exposing himself to a woman on the B and Q trains on Monday. The Post reports that the police caught 24-year-old Jay Arungah after the victim showed them a camera phone picture of a naked Arungah.

The Fire Department is investigating whether standpipes failed to bring firefighters water to help fight a seven-alarm fire that broke out on the 17th floor of the Deutsche Bank building on Saturday. The cause of the fire, which spread between the 14th and 26th floors of the lower Manhattan building, is also unclear, though the FDNY suspects it may have been caused by a cigarette or a faulty electrical panel.

Second Avenue Sagas notes that the survey was emailed to 20,000 people (the Manhattan Borough President's office worked with a number of organizations, including the Straphanger's Campaign, Right Rides, NOW, Hollaback, to get out the word about the online survey), which suggests the statistics could be somewhat inflated, given that the almost 1800 respondents who did fill out the subway may have been weighted towards people who have experienced subway harassment (indeed, about 67% of the respondents are women). This is a point the study acknowledges as a limitation, but says it still serves as "an invaluable 'snapshot' of a problem that persists but is inherently difficult to quantify."

Seething over their many, ignored complaints about new construction at 808 Columbus Avenue, residents of Park West Village held a rally to demand an investigation. All 280 apartments at one Park West building, 784 Columbus, were evacuated when a retaining wall collapsed at the 808 site on Wednesday night. However, there were a number of calls to the Department of Buildings from 784 residents, complaining that the building was shaking as workers blasted in the 808 site.

Residents of 784 Columbus Avenue are saying "I told you so" as the Department of Buildings continues its investigation into the retaining wall collapse at 808 Columbus Avenue. Residents at 784 have been complaining about the new constructions for some time and detailed how they've been wearing earplugs and noise-canceling headphones.

Hundreds of residents near West 97th Street and Columbus Avenue were evacuated when a retaining wall collapsed last night.

Mayor Bloomberg just hates congestion: He announced a plan to more aggressively go after drivers who "block the box" at intersections. The city describe box blocking as "driving into an intersection as the light is changing without room to continue through it, thus blocking traffic," and it seriously sucks. Mayor Bloomberg wants to allow all 2,800 traffic agents to issue tickets (for some reason, only a few traffic enforcement agents can issue them now) in a faster and more efficient way with handheld devices and increase the fine from $90 to $115.

Congratulations to everyone graduating this month! As NYU's commencement was today, with speaker jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, we decided to list the many NYC commencement speakers, with help from The Chronicle of Higher Education (if we've missed any or gotten it wrong, let us know in comments):

Yesterday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Immediately, politicians weighed in with their reactions, including two notable presidential wannabes from our area. Senator Hillary Clinton calling it a "dramatic departure from Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman's right to choose" while former mayor Rudy Giuliani said the Supreme court came to the "correct conclusion." Which the Daily News points out is a reversal from his 2000 position, when he opposed a partial-birth abortion ban.

It's been 33 years since the last Second Avenue Subway groundbreaking, so it's high time for new generations of straphangers to revel in the hope of a new subway line. We also expect the public -- especially the Upper East Side-residing public -- to become jaded with construction delays, traffic issues, and noise. Here's the press release from the MTA:

Tomorrow morning's historic groundbreaking ceremony for the Second Avenue Subway can be seen by all New Yorkers live on NY1, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place in one of the subway tunnels built under Second Ave. in the 1970s but never used. Due to the limited capacity of the tunnel, the MTA arranged for the live broadcast with NY1 and will open its board room at 347 Madison Avenue for members of the public to join MTA staff for a public viewing and celebration.

Continue reading "Second Avenue Subway Groundbreaking Day!"

Yesterday, activists attempted to block the construction crews from razing a community garden in Harlem. The city has been planning to remove the Nueva Esperanza Garden at 110th and Fifth Avenue and replace it with a new building for the Museum of African Art. But critics question whether it's really a museum or a guise for new condominiums. There are supposed to be 115 luxury units in the building, and Times Up writes the museum part "has no collections and will house a few small rooms for lectures."

Workers at Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Grill have gone on strike - and have also been locked out by the owners - for over two weeks. Now, the workers have filed a lawsuit against Saigon Grill for a wide range of labor violations.